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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681530">The Empty Comes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightningbugqueen/pseuds/lightningbugqueen'>lightningbugqueen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Established, Fluff, Hurt, I cried writing this, Loss, M/M, Sad Ending, Sweet, no beta we die like men, sorry - Freeform, the Empty comes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:27:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681530</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightningbugqueen/pseuds/lightningbugqueen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Castiel are finally happy. Who wouldn't be, when they finally got the person they'd been pining over for 11 years to be with them? But, as we all know, good things never last.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Empty Comes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yay! Be prepared for some angsty feels, and, as my friend would say, "Sad Dean angsty boi" If you cry, that means I did my job. I built this around the scene in one of the newest teaser trailers. Thanks for reading! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everything was right in the world. God was done with. Sam and Eileen were happy. The brothers got to see their family one last time, and they were at peace. There were no more wars to fight, no more monsters to kill, only Team Free Will, 2.0, happy at last. And the best part was, Dean finally plucked up the courage to tell Cas how he felt. He had been nervous, oh so nervous, but Cas had just called him an assbutt and kissed him. Now, that same angel was curled into Dean’s side, wearing nothing but a pair of Dean’s boxers and his prized Led Zeppelin shirt. Dean sifted his fingers through Castiel’s hair, marveling at its softness, and the beauty of the angel it belonged to. The dark cast of his eyelashes, the satiny smoothness of his skin, even the nearly purple bags under his eyes were the most stunning things Dean had ever seen. He loved the man who rested his head on Dean’s bare chest, and he could finally admit it. Dean didn’t know how long he had loved Castiel, just that he went from “Castiel, Angel of the Lord, who gripped him tight and raised him from perdition” to, “Castiel, Angel of the Lord, who was kind beyond measure, wise beyond even his years, and the one being that could steal the heart of a man as cold as Dean Winchester”<br/>
Speaking of said angel, Cas was beginning to stir in Dean’s arms. Despite what he said about not needing to sleep, the angel certainly looked like he had enjoyed the chance to rest for once. He opened his electric blue eyes and looked at Dean with a gaze of pure adoration. No matter how many times Cas looked at him, Dean didn’t think he would ever get over the wonder of the angel before him.<br/>
“Hello Dean,” he murmured, nuzzling his face into the crook of Dean’s neck.<br/>
“Hello yourself,” replied Dean, resting his chin on the head of his beloved. God, “beloved”. He was so whipped. They remained like that for a while, not saying a word, just reveling in the comfort of finally being in each other’s arms. How long they had both waited for this, and it was better than even the brightest of Dean’s fantasies. Finally, after some self-corralling and several kisses to Castiel’s hair, Dean managed to get himself out of bed, slip into his dead-guy robe, and make his way to the kitchen. He turned on the coffee maker and got to scrambling some eggs. Just as he was scooping the eggs from the pan to the plates, Cas came in, rubbing his eyes.<br/>
“Cas, you know you could’ve stayed in my clothes, right?” Cas had, for some reason, changed from the boxers and t-shirt back into his trademark suit and trench coat. Cas just shrugged his shoulders and sat at the counter, obviously still drowsy.<br/>
“I find it very hard to wake up after being asleep, Dean. I thought perhaps putting on the clothes I wear while I am awake would help bring me back to full consciousness,”<br/>
“You wear those clothes all the time. Couldn’t hurt to give them a rest. Anyway, you looked really nice in my clothes, if you know what I mean,” Dean gave a suggested quirk of his eyebrows.<br/>
“Dean, you know full well I do not know what you mean. I do not understand these references you keep making, those clothes weren’t even ‘nice’” Cas was obviously not a morning person. Dean set down the pan and moved towards his angel. His angel. He would never get over that. He wrapped his arms around Castiel’s shoulders and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.<br/>
“I know, I’m sorry. What I meant by nice was that you look really hot in my clothes, and it makes me want to kiss you. A lot. And maybe more. Why don’t we get some coffee into you, and then we can go back to my bedroom,” Cas sighed and leaned back into Dean’s touch, feeling the morning grumpiness drain out of him.<br/>
“I am sorry Dean, we should not be arguing today. It is a happy day, and we get so few of those. I would greatly appreciate coffee, and whatever you would like to do in your bedroom” Maybe Cas understood some references better than others. Dean leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips, then went back to the coffee maker, forgoing the eggs for the moment.<br/>
With his back turned, he did not see Cas shoot to his feet in alarm, nor did he catch sight of the newest being to enter the room. He did, however, hear the sharp, “Dean” that Cas let out, and the loud cackle coming from the other side of the room. He spun around, hunter instincts flaring, but what he saw made him pause. Meg stood in the doorway, a wicked grin on her face, her eyes alight with glee. It looked like Meg, but also not like Meg. However, what really scared Dean was the look on Castiel’s face. He was white as a sheet, eyes wide with terror.<br/>
“No,” he said, his voice cracking, “not today. Not here, not now, not him,”<br/>
“But Cas,” she said, and Dean knew it couldn’t be the real Meg. She had only ever called in Clarence, making Dean increasingly jealous as the weeks went by all those years ago. “wasn’t this the deal? I can see it, you’re happy. You got the guy, the home, the life you always wanted. You’re happy, which means it’s my turn!” Castiel’s eyes filled with unshed tears, his face stricken with pain.<br/>
“Cas,” Dean said cautiously, “what’s going on?”<br/>
“Oh, so pretty boy here hasn’t told you then, Deano?” not-Meg said, “Well, let me fill you in. I am a Cosmic Entity, the ruler of the Empty. Your son, the little abomination, was dead. Full on, lights out, doornail. And Cassie here volunteered to take his place! Now, I’ve hated your angel for some time, so I decided to make the deal, with a twist. Castiel here could live out his days in peace, until he was happy, that is. The second he was truly happy with his life, boom! I get him! And now here we are. Cas finally got to be with you, you make him happy, I get to keep him. Now, if we can be on our way?”<br/>
Dean could feel his heart break. He had never believed those stories about your heart ripping in two when you lose the love of your life, he thought that pain was physiological, never physical. But the white-hot fire that ripped through his chest was all too real, and it only got worse as the realization struck. Not only was he going to lose Cas, his angel, but he was also the reason Cas was going to die. If he had kept his mouth shut, just let them keep living platonically, this wouldn’t have happened. Dean was the reason for Castiel’s pain. Wasn’t he always? Had there ever been a time when Dean hadn’t screwed up the world around him, hadn’t caused the people he loved to hurt time after time? How could Castiel love Dean, if he was why Castiel felt that pain in the first place? Castiel fought, he rebelled, all for some self-centered worthless piece of crap who, even when the one man he loved more than anything on this planet was going to die, could only think about how awful he was. Dean fell back, the small of his back hitting the counter painfully, but he couldn’t care. He was losing Cas. Cas finally looked away from his old friend’s stolen face, and towards Dean. He could see the pain as if it was painted across Dean’s beautiful features, and he knew what this would do to Dean. And he couldn’t do anything to stop it.<br/>
“Dean,” he said, “I have to go. We needed Jack, and you needed me. There isn’t anyone for us to fight anymore, you don’t need me anymore.” Dean looked as if he was going to interject, but Cas just continued, “But the world needs you, Dean. The world will always need you. Sooner or later something bad is going to happen, and you need to be there. You need to get the chance to live in the world you saved, Dean. You fought for this whole world, you deserve to keep it. I ruined it. I let the Leviathans out, I hurt you so many times. I deserve this, and you don’t deserve what will happen to you if you fight back. I wish more than anything that I could stay with you, but I can’t. I made this deal, and I need to keep it. I love you, Dean.” He stepped forward, kissed Dean softly, tears racing down his cheeks, and then he let go. He stepped back, dropped Dean’s hand, and stepped towards the Empty. “Goodbye Dean, I will forever love you,” were the final words Castiel, Angel of the Lord, spoke, before the Empty trapped hold of his shoulder, and with a last wicked grin, disappeared.<br/>
Dean sank to his knees, all of the life drained out of him. He didn’t cry, didn’t wail, didn’t beg for Cas to come back. Castiel was gone. Cas was gone.<br/>
Dean got his wish. He got to kiss Cas, hold him, love him, and be loved back. And he did this. He hurt the love of his life all because of some selfish need to be loved. Cas said he needed to keep fighting, keep saving his world. What the angel didn't understand was that Dean's world just got dragged off into the empty. What Cas didn't understand was how Dean only had one reason he kept fighting, and he just lost it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yay, thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. If so(or if not) leave a comment, and some kudos.<br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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